Synopses & Reviews
Making the Best Child Custody Decision.
To truly address the child's best interest, decisions awarding custody should be based on the best possible information. In this essential book, leading child development researchers, legal professionals, and clinicians analyze the legal status of empirical studies, the role of psychological testing, and the evaluation and proper use of scientific evidence.
The authors present current research on topics including evaluating and using child witnesses, the problems of stepfamilies, handling sexual abuse allegations, the impact of divorce on infants and very young children, and the special custody issues raised by medically ill children and adolescents. Lawyers, judges, custody evaluators, social workers, psychologists, policymakers, and parents can use this book to understand the tangle of information and concepts involved in child custody decisions.
Synopsis
The legal system requires mental health professionals to provide research summaries to support their evaluations in child custody cases. Contributions from leading developmental researchers, legal professionals, and clinicians describe how scientific evidence is properly used in court. Timely and current, this book helps evaluators access the best information to fulfill their obligations to their clients and the court. The Second Edition adds chapters on family observation, parental alienation, and sexual abuse. Forensic psychologists, family lawyers, and judges will be equipped with the most current information to aid in custody decisions.
About the Author
DR. ROBERT M. GALATZER-LEVY, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychoanalyst on the faculties of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis and the University of Chicago, has extensive experience as an expert witness and consultant to courts, attorneys, and families on child custody issues.
DR. LOUIS KRAUS currently serves as Division Head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for Evanston Northwestern Health Care. He has extensive expertise in educational, forensic, and child custody evaluations.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Preface to the Second Edition.
Introduction (Robert Galatzer-Levy).
1. From Empirical Findings to Custody Evaluations (Robert Galatzer-Levy, Jonathan Gould, David Martindale).
2. Legal and Ethical Issues in Child Custody Evaluations (David A. Martindale and Norman M. Sheresky).
3. Observations of Parents, Caretakers and Children for Child Custody Assessment (Anita Lampl).
4. Use of Psychological Tests in Child Custody Evaluations (Jonathan Gould, David A. Martindale, and James R. Flens).
5. An Updated Review of the Effects of System and Estimator Variables on Child Witness Accuracy in Custody Cases (Bradley D. McAuliff, Margaret Bull Kovera, and Livia L. Gilstrap).
6. The Importance of Attachment in Custody Evaluations: Towards the Best Interest of the Child (Louis Kraus and Kayla Pope).
7. Improving the Quality of Parent-Child Contact in Separating Families with Infants and Young Children: Empirical Research Foundations (Michael E. Lamb and Joan B. Kelly).
8. Divorce, Custody and Visitation in Mid-Childhood (Louis Kraus, Robin Shapiro, and Robert M. Galatzer-Levy).
9. Custody Evaluations of Adolescents (Sarghi Sharma and Christopher Thomas).
10. Adopted Children and Custody Arrangements (Susan M. Fisher).
11. Medically Ill Children and Adolescents (Brenda Bursch).
12. Parental Sexual Orientation, Social Science Research, and Child Custody Decisions (Charlotte J. Patterson).
13. Parents with Serious Mental Illness and Child Custody (Michael J. Jenuwine and Bertram J. Cohler).
14. Child Adjustment and High Conflict Divorce (Robin M. Deutsch and Marsha Kline Pruett).
15. Assessing Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse within Complex Custody Cases (Kathryn Kuehnle and Mary Connell).
16. Rejection in Cases of Abuse and/or Alienation in Divorcing Families (Leslie M. Drozd).
17. Joint Custody: A Judicious Choice for Families – But How, When, and Why (Marsha Kline Pruett and Carrie Barker)?
18. Conclusion and Prospects (Robert Galatzer-Levy).